1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to ophthalmic corneal protective devices comprising an aqueous gel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Corneal protective devices are needed in cases in which corneal injury occurs and the immobilization of the eye using an eye patch is not resorted to. Molded collagen shields have been developed for this use. These are often not satisfactory because they lack sufficient flexibility to conform to the individual corneal curvature. The clinical uses of collagen shields are disclosed by Poland et al in Journal of Cataract Refractive Surgery, Volume 14, September 1988, pages 489-491. The author describes the use of collagen shields immersed in tobramycin solution in order to rehydrate the collagen prior to use. These are described as useful following cataract extraction or in patients having nonsurgical epithelial healing problems. More rapid healing of epithelial defects after surgery resulted from the use of the collagen shield. Collagen shields have also been utilized as agents for the delivery of drugs to the cornea as disclosed in Reidy et al Cornea, in press, 1989 the Raven Press, Ltd., New York and Shofner et al, Ophthalmology Clinics of North America, Vol. 2, No. 1, March 1989, pages 15-23.
Over the years, methods have been developed to achieve the efficient delivery of a therapeutic drug to a mammalian body part requiring pharmaceutical treatment. Use of an aqueous liquid which can be applied at room temperature as a liquid but which forms a semisolid gel, when warmed to body temperature, which readily conforms to corneal curvature, has been utilized as a vehicle for drug delivery since such a system combines ease of application, improved patient tolerance, and greater retention at the site requiring treatment than would be the case if the aqueous composition were not converted to a gel as it is warmed to mammalian body temperature. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,188,373, PLURONIC.RTM. polyols are used in aqueous compositions to provide thermally gelling aqueous systems. Adjusting the concentration of the polymer provides the desired sol-gel transition temperature, that is, the lower the concentration of polymer, the higher the sol-gel transition temperature, after crossing a critical concentration minimum, below which a gel will not form. Other polyoxyalkylene gel compositions are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,810,503 and 4,879,109.
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,474,751; '752; '753; and 4,478,822 drug delivery systems are described which utilize thermosetting gels; the unique feature of these systems is that both the gel transition temperature and/or the rigidity of the gel can be modified by adjustment of the pH and/or the ionic strength, as well as by the concentration of the polymer.
Other patents disclosing pharmaceutical compositions which rely upon an aqueous gel composition as a vehicle for the application of the drug are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,883,660; 4,767,619; 4,511,563; and 4,861,760. Thermosetting gel systems are also disclosed for application to injured mammalian tissues of the thoracic or peritoneal cavities in U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,926.
Ionic polysaccharides have been used in the application of drugs by controlled release. Such ionic polysaccharides as chitosan or sodium alginate are disclosed as useful in providing spherical agglomerates of water-insoluble drugs in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences volume 78, number 11, November 1989, Bodmeier et al. Alginates have also been used as a depot substance in active immunization, as disclosed in the Journal of Pathology and Bacteriology volume 77, (1959), C. R. Amies. Calcium alginate gel formulations have also found use as a matrix material for the controlled release of herbicides, as disclosed in the Journal of Controlled Release, 3 (1986) pages 229-233, Pfister et al. Alginates have also been used to form hydrogel foam wound dressings, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,575.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,640,741, a molded plastic mass composed of the reaction product of a hydrophilic colloid and a cross-linking agent such as a liquid polyol, also containing an organic liquid medium such as glycerin, is disclosed as useful in the controlled release of medication or other additives. The hydrophilic colloid can be carboxymethyl cellulose gum or a natural alginate gum which is cross-linked with a polyol. The cross-linking reaction is accelerated in the presence of aluminum and calcium salts.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,724, compositions are disclosed for the controlled release of pharmacological macromolecular compounds contained in a matrix of chitosan. Chitosan can be cross-linked utilizing aldehydes, epichlorohydrin, benzoquinone, etc.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,642, there are disclosed gelatin-encapsulated, controlled-release compositions for release of pharmaceutical compositions, wherein the gelatin encloses a solid matrix formed by the cation-assisted gelation of a liquid filling composition incorporating a vegetable gum together with a pharmaceutically-active compound. The vegetable gums are disclosed as polysaccharide gums such as alginates which can be gelled utilizing a cationic gelling agent such as an alkaline earth metal cation.
While the prior art is silent with respect to aqueous corneal protective compositions, the alginate hydrogel foam wound dressings disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,575, cited above, are of interest in disclosing compositions which absorb wound exudate without appreciable swelling. These compositions contain a water soluble alginate, an effervescent compound which effervesces upon reaction with an acid, a water soluble acid, and a water insoluble di- or trivalent metal salt. U.S. Pat. No. 4,255,415 is also of interest in disclosing a polyvinyl alcohol based ophthalmic gel for drug delivery. Osmotic drug delivery systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,439,196 which utilize a multi-chamber compartment for holding osmotic agents, adjuvants, enzymes, drugs, pro-drugs, pesticides, and the like. These materials are enclosed by semipermeable membranes so as to allow the fluids within the chambers to diffuse into the environment into which the osmotic drug delivery system is in contact. The drug delivery device can be sized for oral ingestion, implantation, rectal, vaginal, or ocular insertion for delivery of a drug or other beneficial substance. Since this drug delivery device relies on the permeability of the semipermeable membranes to control the rate of delivery of the drug, the drugs or other pharmaceutical preparations, by definition, are not isotonic with mammalian blood.